


The dead city

by Naquar



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Fear, Gen, Horror, M/M, Protectiveness, Supernatural Elements, Zombie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:20:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29591310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naquar/pseuds/Naquar
Relationships: Ash Lynx & Okumura Eiji, Ash Lynx & Shorter Wong, Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji, Okumura Eiji & Shorter Wong
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

Prologue: I go back

The young black-haired man woke up screaming.   
A familiar throbbing in his shoulder became audible and he brought his hand to where the wound was, covered by a thick bandage.   
Had it been a month? Or maybe longer?  
A green-eyed boy entered the room.   
"Eiji, you're having nightmares again."  
He nodded, he had a great urge to cry, but his eyes were dry and...then he realized that tomorrow or the next day they would be leaving again.   
"If you don't want to go, you can stay here too. Alex can put you up."  
"No."  
"I knew it" Ash said quietly, he walked over and laid a hand on the shoulder of the young black haired man in the dimness of the room.


	2. Chapter 1. Welcome to…

“Welcome to Lake Paradise, the city that cares about its citizens,” read the sign that marked the entrance to that hole of place, or perhaps the asshole of the world, that the green Jeep passed.  
The sun was now reduced to a thin golden line, in a dramatic riot of last colors on the horizon, giving way to a thick black line. Even the small town of Lake Paradise seemed to sink even deeper into the dark valley floor of where it had been built back in 1816.  
Ash Lynx turned off the car radio and patted the shoulder of the sleeping passenger, Eiji Okamura, with his hand.  
The boy stretched his long arms, yawned and asked, "Where are we?"  
"We've arrived in Lake Paradise," Ash announced with a slightly sarcastic smile.  
"Nice name"  
"However, we are still far away and I fear it will take another day and a half of travel"  
"Max and Jessica won't be too happy if we're late," Eiji observed, shrugging.  
"I know, but it's not even our fault that they decided to remarry on the other side of America, in a godforsaken place," Ash said sourly.  
"There's always Las Vegas"  
"That wouldn't be bad"  
Eiji's lips parted in an amused smile. "Oh! So you would win a lot of money at gambling "  
"I think those three have a bad influence"  
“Alex, Kong and Bones? Nah, they just taught me just how to play poker "  
"And how did it go?" "I tore them all up"  
"Mmm ... I think we'll have to refuel," Ash said, thinking he should have a good chat with those three of his.  
After filling up with gas, grabbing something to munch on, the two boys headed for the motel, following the directions the fat gas station attendant had given them.  
The motel, with its haughty name, Inn Swain, was a nondescript butter-colored, rectangular-shaped building - it resembled a shoe box indeed.  
Ash parked the car.  
They took their bags and headed to the motel.  
They entered.  
They were greeted in the hall by a woman as thin as a stick, a wrinkled face that resembled a parchment, their straw-blond hair worn out and gathered in a ponytail; he was constantly chewing a butt, showing his tobacco-stained yellow teeth.  
The desk on which the landlady had placed her elbows comfortably was completely scratched, cluttered with papers, an old dial telephone who knows how many years old, an old radio from who knows how long ago.  
The first impression for the two brothers was that the one there was frozen with the rest of the motel and the second seemed to come out of a mausoleum.  
"Hello treasures"  
"Hi lady we were looking for a single room ..."  
"Matrimonial?"  
"No, two single beds"  
"Ah OK"  
"We're just friends," Eiji said with a smile of circumstance.  
“Ok, excuse me: then I must be blind, me. That's thirty dollars, honey. No mess, no guns and more unless I call the police or even less annoying noises, right? " the woman said, swinging her gaze from one to the other, in a look of what she wanted to be ... warning.  
"Goodnight darlings, the room is on the second floor, at the bottom right"  
"Good evening, to you too"  
Ash limited himself to a grunt.  
Room 221 was waiting for them.  
"Well, there's nothing to say"  
Not that one could expect better from a motel room in a remote place: spartan, but at least it was clean; there were two bedside tables, two bedside tables with their respective lamps, two beds (at least the sheets were clean), a hideous worn green carpet in the corners and a kitchenette, with a fridge that had seen better times.  
"But have you seen that ?!" Ash snorted. Every time he was forced to explain to those pain in the ass that Eiji was a friend, damn it and not her husband or partner; was it so hard to understand?  
"I don't even notice it anymore"  
"What can you do? I'm going to take a shower "  
"But don't run out of all the water, though!"  
Eiji rolled his eyes and shut himself in the bathroom; he came out after a quarter of an hour, shuffling his feet.  
He was wearing blue pajamas and a towel thrown over his head, his damp hair had flattened at his temples, his skin had reached a nice lobster color and if he had thrown himself into a pot it would have had the same effect.  
"Holy shit ..! The water was boiling, but what a fucking place this is! "  
"Onichan ... boiled lobster" Ash teased him affectionately.  
Ignoring him, the Japanese boy sat on the bed and plugged in the laptop; he opened the Google page and started surfing the net, something that might seem interesting to him.  
"Your eyes will cross as you use that laptop, Onichan"  
"Do not worry"  
"Your business, I warned you"  
Eiji ignored him again, something else had finally caught his attention: an article in a local newspaper dating back to a few days earlier.  
“Husband and wife missing, still no trace.  
There is still no news, after the alarming disappearance of the Lewis, which occurred two weeks earlier. Last time, the couple had been spotted at a diner in the town of Lake Paradise .... "  
Soon after, Eiji found another one: this time, it was about a man who also disappeared, three weeks earlier, Jordan Eli a local.  
And a third, concerned a fifty-six-year-old hunter who disappeared during a hunting trip.  
Ash came out of the bathroom, in pajamas and with all hair, shot in the air.  
Yawn.  
"But are you still there?"  
"We should leave as quickly as possible"  
Ash lost his smile, replaced by a worried expression. "What do you mean?"  
“I did a little internet search and it turns out that a lot of people have disappeared here,” Eiji murmured.  
“Maybe they were just passing tourists. You know they write a lot of things on the Internet "  
"I'm not a child!"  
"Well, yawn, we'll talk about it again in the morning, okay?"  
"As you like," Eiji muttered.  
Ash smiled. "Excuse me, Onichan"  
They were tired, after traveling for over half a day, so needed a good sleep.


	3. Spleen

Chapter 2: Spleen

"Shit, shit, shit and more shit!"  
If he'd had him in his hands he'd have choked him until his head came off, the asshole who'd done this to him.  
Ash ran a hand through his hair, looking at the disaster: all four of the car's tyres slashed; they had done a pretty perfect job!  
Eiji sighed and said, "All that's left is to call a tow truck."  
"Where the fuck are you going to find one in this hole of a town?"  
"Call Willy" said a voice behind them.  
It was the motel owner watching the scene with vague interest, an unlit cigarette dangling from her lips.  
"He's good with cars."  
"Can you give us the number?"  
"Right away, dear."  
"We were still missing this curse..." complained Ash, looking at the disaster.  
A few minutes later, having emptied the car of everything that wasn't essential (more or less), the mechanic arrived with the tow truck.  
Ash and Eiji followed him to the workshop.  
Willy Long was a stout, ruddy-faced guy with grizzled black hair and fleshy hands; he wore a blue mechanic's overalls, smeared with motor oil.  
"They gave you a good job," observed the mechanic thoughtfully.  
"Yeah."  
"Could have been the gang of kids who hang out around here."  
"And don't they go to school?"  
"Sure. Back to us, I can order you all four wheels but..."  
If there was one thing the Lynx had hated all her life, it was "buts". "What?!"  
"I'm sorry, but the parts will arrive I can get them in by tomorrow at the latest. The car really is an old model," Willy said with a shrug.  
Ash felt like choking the mechanic.  
"And what are we doing here in the meantime?"  
"We're staying here a few days," Eiji replied, receiving a full-on glare.  
"Shit."  
At that moment, a short, petite guy holding a threadbare hat entered the workshop.  
"Hey, Mike," Willy greeted him.  
"Hi, what brings you here?"  
Mike moistened his lips, as if he had a piece of gossip too greedy not to share with anyone. "They found another one, Will."  
The mechanic turned pale.  
"Where?"  
"Jordan Eli, they found him...miraculously alive. Christ, he was wandering around in a state of confusion along the road. I heard he was barefoot and his hands were full of cuts" Mike explained puzzled, scratching his head.  
"But who told you that?"  
"Old Miller, you know that one always knows everything about everyone."  
"God forbid."  
Ash and Eiji exchanged a look.  
"What happened?"  
"Recently, some people have been disappearing here."  
"Damn, that's true..."  
"And have any of them found him?" asked Eiji in a low voice.  
Mike shook his head. "A while ago: two guys. But when they found them, they were in such bad shape they had to use dental records to identify them, the police said it was wild animals that attacked them, poor things."  
"That's a bad story."  
"That's all anyone here in town is talking about. And if I were you two, well you know what you have to do" Willy whispered with a sigh.  
"Ah, if you want to grab a bite to eat there's the diner not far from here."  
"Thanks."  
The place wasn't very full, so the two boys took a table, ordered coffee and sandwiches from a waitress who couldn't take her eyes off the blonde Lynx.  
"I think you've made an impression" Eiji laughed.  
"Bah!"  
"She only has eyes for you."  
"But I prefer you" Ash said with a smile and batting his long eyelashes towards Eiji who shook his head.  
As soon as he heard the sentence, the girl made a disappointed grimace, served them quickly and left.  
"That wasn't very nice."  
"Right now, I have more important things to do."  
Eiji thoughtfully chewed on his sandwich. "What do we do now?"  
"I'll call Max and tell him we'll be late, I don't think they'll be too sorry" Ash said, cup in hand.  
"I don't think we'll be staying long anyway."  
"I hope so"  
"Are you afraid, Onichan?" said Ash with a smile.  
"Yes. I don't like it much."  
He didn't want to admit it, but Ash would feel safe if they left there immediately, and he feared that Eiji might be right


End file.
